What It Means
by UKELICIOUS
Summary: "It all sounds like that stupid story." "...I-I suppose...I should probably give that a try, right? L-Like in the story." ... "Should've known. You're not a princess." 5927 AU


**Warning(s): **_This story will contain _**MALE ON MALE FLUFF**. _If it's not your cup of tea, please _**don't read**_._

**What It Means**

There had been little in life that Gokudera had wanted. His mother. A place to belong. To be away from the source of agonizing stomach cramps, i.e. his sister, so he wouldn't have to suffer looking at that terrible face or eating the terrible food again. Nothing too out there to ask for, right? He thought so. And so had the fortune teller who had promised him all of it.

Gokudera had come upon this so-called fortune teller after he had tried running away. He had casually been walking down the street when he had felt compelled to look down the alley he just passed, only to see the man beckoning him. He'd had a fleeting thought that maybe following strange men down alleys wasn't the best way to start off his life on the streets, but he disregarded the thought and did so anyway.

The man had read his cards: his past, his present, and his future as well. The silver-head had paid little to no attention at his past and present. He knew both; what was the point in being retold what he already knew? The future was what he wanted.

And what a future was painted for him. Finally what he wanted: to be away from his family, to be accepted into a new one, to be somewhere he belonged at last... No more painful piano recitals where he was half mad and foaming at the mouth while his fingers played strange notes that could only sound beautiful to those insanely foolish fools that foolishly insisted he play for them. No more agonizing experimentations of new food that could be used against him...

"Come now, boy, won't you shake my hand? Won't you shake a poor…sinner's hand?"

But the damn shadow man had pulled a fast one on him. He had taken the money Gokudera had originally stolen from his father when he'd left, all four thousand dollars of it. And in exchange…

"Kufufu, my, my, Gokudera_-kun_, you're quite..." The shadowed lips parted into a devilish grin with luminescent teeth. "A kitten."

-.-.-.-.-

"Oi, Tsuna, another round over here."

"Sure!"

The brunette pushed his way through the chairs, smiling politely at greetings thrown his way. He held his tray over his head and stood next to the round table full of regular customers. "Here you go, Squalo!" He set down several drinks at the center, picking up the empty glasses as he went.

"Ushishishi, Sawada, looks like you got more admirers~!" Belphegor gestured with his knife towards a gaggle of girls throwing flirty, blushing looks at said brunette.

"Uwaaa~! But they can't have Tsu-chan!" Lussuria snaked his arm out to catch Tsuna's waist, cuddling into the brunette's abdomen. He cried out as he was shoved off his chair by the silver-head beside him.

"VOI! Let him get back to work!" Squalo shooed Tsuna, taking up his drink, and scowled as the brunette laughed and helped Lussuria back onto his chair. "He can fucking pick himself up!"

"Oi, Tsuna!"

The brunette looked over his shoulder to the lanky man at the bar who called him and waved. "Hold on, Yamamoto!" He turned towards the head of the table and smiled at the glower he had been receiving since the man had come in. "Xanxus," he greeted. "How's Dad?"

A hush fell over the table, save Belphegor's continuous snickers, as the group awaited their leader's response to the query. The man's heavy, crimson gaze held against Tsuna's calm, tawny one, allowing the agonizing silence to stretch uncomfortably between them. After several tense moments had passed, he finally grimaced and answered, "Fine. Waiting on you, trash."

Tsuna smiled once more, glad that this time around Xanxus hadn't blown up entirely at the mention of the man as he had before. Having to pay for broken furniture once was enough. "Won't be long." He turned and made his way to Yamamoto at the counter, lifting his tray to said counter as he opened the small door to step behind it and be level with the man. "What's up?"

Yamamoto looked up from serving another man a drink, smiling widely at Tsuna. "Mind taking out the trash for me? I kinda have my hands full, and if any more is thrown in there, it'll be a mess." He gestured to the overly full trash bin at the corner with his chin.

Tsuna nodded his assent, moving the glasses off his tray to the sink across the counter. "Sure thing. Shift's just about to be over, so that can be my last. Can you hold up the fort without me?" He grinned when Yamamoto released a hearty laugh as he pulled the trash bag out of its bin, tying it together before he began making his way out the back door to the alleyway that led to the parking lot. "See you, Yamamoto!"

The door shut on Yamamoto's farewell and Tsuna proceeded to lug the trash bag to the large dumpster nearby. His nose wrinkled at the emanating stench, but he heaved the bag up and over, hearing it thump against the other bags with the clinking of bottles. He patted his hands against his pants, giving a brief glance to his surroundings before sighing gently as he caught the headlights and gentle hum of the car that would be taking him home as per usual.

"_Mew._"

Tsuna jumped at the sound, whirling to find the source. A minute passed as he waited, ears peeled for that same faint meowing he'd heard. He caught a faint shifting from inside the dumpster and half-turned towards it, hoping to hear the sound to confirm that the shuffling was being created by something living and not just garbage settling.

"_Mrow..."_

Tsuna bolted up to the dumpster, hesitating only slightly at the rim before he grabbed it and hefted himself up to look inside. He gagged slightly as the rank stench assaulted his nostrils and blinked hard to keep tears out of his eyes as he glanced through the garbage bags. There was something grey shifting to his left, flicking as it fought against the tangles of the plastic bags.

Tsuna's stomach was beginning to hurt from being perched on, but the small creature's predicament called out to him. He balanced himself on his abdomen as he released his grip to reach over to it. "Hey there." He called gently, watching it stiffen before it hissed at him as its fur fluffed up about it defensively.

It was a kitten, a fairly dirty one to be precise. Its fur was matted and very nearly an ugly brown, save its tail that still showed its slight grey color that Tsuna could only assume was close to its original coloring. The kitten's eyes were a bright emerald, glowing in the dim light of the alley with a startling intensity as they stared Tsuna down. Its body was trembling, and its fur was clinging to its skinny body. The sight made Tsuna's heart ache with sympathy, just like when he watched those ASPCA commercials that came on during those Animal Cop shows he liked to watch on weekends.

"Hold on; I won't hurt you. Let me help." He reached out slowly, judging by the slight change of pitch in the hissing that it was okay to proceed. The kitten was still watching him, and if Tsuna could personify the look suggested, he would say the kitten was glaring at him suspiciously. As it was, he let his hand hover in front of the kitten's nose, waiting for the "go-ahead."

The kitten's eyes darted from his face to his hand, very nearly appearing puzzled before giving a tentative sniff to his fingers. Tsuna smiled, feeling the strain of having the damn dumpster's rim digging into his abdomen, and petted the kitten's head before scooting over a bit to help the kitten out from beneath one of the bags it had been stuck under. He pushed himself off the dumpster with his elbows, letting out a relieved breath as he pressed the kitten to his chest while he began to walk to the parking lot.

Tsuna's fingers crept over the kitten's neck, finding only a thin piece of rope tied with a crumpled sheet of paper between the only knots upon the string. He frowned, taking a few cautious steps to see if the kitten had any objections to being taken and continuing when there was none. His fingers undid the knot, taking the note before letting the string fall to the ground beneath his feet. He received a pleased shake for this as he skirted a few cars to reach the one awaiting him.

The door opened and a crimson glare met his as he slid into the seat, tucking the kitten – who had begun growling upon seeing the varied people – into his chest more securely. "Take out that trash." Xanxus growled, grimacing at the furball hissing at him as Tsuna closed the door defiantly.

"No, I'm going to take care of him." Tsuna let his hand rest between the kitten's ears as the other occupants in the limousine shifted uneasily to his outright rejection. He could hear the shift of leather beside him as Xanxus tensed and the distinct sound of glass being squeezed to the point of near breaking. He paused as the kitten's back arched even higher against him, hissing and growling straight at Xanxus as he waited for the other to retaliate.

"You already have Natsu. Get rid of it."

Tsuna recognized that tone and chanced a glance around to the others in the seats perpendicular to his. He could see Lussuria wanting to come up and cuddle the kitten he held; Belphegor was downing a dainty glass of some opaque liquid he could vaguely recognize as vodka; Squalo was making a point of not looking in his direction and instead listening to Levi's murmurs about what Tsuna could only assume was related to the one currently angered beside him (like it ever wasn't).

"Xanxus," Tsuna replied stubbornly. "I'm keeping him." At the sound of glass shattering beside him and the kitten's angry yowl, the brunette laid his arm around the kitten as Xanxus grabbed his collar and yanked him sideways into the leather-covered seat as the car slowed to a stop.

"Listen, you fucking scumbag." Xanxus snarled, ignoring the kitten struggling in Tsuna's grip. His words were cut off as Tsuna's hand lifted and wrapped about his wrist, defiant tawny eyes flashing at him as the brunette straightened against the seat.

"I said, no, Xanxus. See you later." Tsuna turned as Xanxus' grip slackened and hastened out of the car with the kitten tucked against his chest as it yowled. His arm was beginning to sting from being scratched when he had held the kitten back from leaping at Xanxus. He was sure he would not have been able to stop Xanxus from hurting it had it done so.

The limousine's door slammed behind him and it moved off as Tsuna made his way up the stairs to his apartment building. As he neared his door, he finally glanced to the paper still clasped in his hand that had been tucked into the knot from before.

_Gokudera_

Tsuna paused outside his door number, _5927_, and stared at the strangely flowing, looping handwriting. _'Gokudera?'_ He mentally repeated with a frown, turning his stare to the disgruntled kitten in his arm. The name of the kitten? Most likely.

He tucked the paper into his pocket and took out his keys at last, opening his door and going in. The kitten moved against his chest, head turning around the area. The brunette removed his shoes as he closed the door and set the kitten down before him. "Welcome to my house, I guess, Gokudera-kun."

The kitten turned, almost startled, at hearing its name. Its green orbs fixed on Tsuna's, and Tsuna found himself with the oddest sensation of being x-rayed. After a few seconds of staring at one another, the brunette let out a short, nervous laugh and moved towards the kitchen. "I'm guessing you're hungry, right?" He motioned for Gokudera to follow and paused again, eyes lingering on his dirty fur. "Or maybe a bath first…?"

Gokudera growled lowly and haughtily lifted his tail and chin, walking in the direction Tsuna had first started in, giving a clear indication of what he wanted first. The brunette smiled and led the way. "Okay, Gokudera-kun, food first."

He did not have much in his fridge, but Gokudera did seem interested in the plate of still-fresh-sushi that Yamamoto had given him just a few days ago (which was a good thing, considering he would have entirely forgotten it was there as he usually just ate ramen and would have only seen it again after it had spoiled).

Tsuna sat down as he watched Gokudera scarf down the fish. His thoughts wandered as he waited. He had angered, more like enraged, Xanxus earlier. He winced as he recalled who would be taking the brunt of the man's anger more so than any of the others. He had to make a mental note to make it up to Squalo. Maybe he would like to go out clubbing with him and Yamamoto one night... Those two had most certainly seemed to hit it off when they had met not too long ago. Nevermind that they had ended up dueling in the middle of the bar after a misunderstood statement from his friend. Squalo helping Yamamoto up after that short match only proved that he had taken somewhat of a liking to the barman.

Tsuna jerked as he realized emerald eyes were glowering back at him suspiciously. He gave an embarrassed laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, Gokudera-kun, I zoned out. Ready for a bath?" He did not receive much of a response: a simple flick of said kitten's tail.

Taking it to be an assent, Tsuna stood and picked Gokudera up, making his way out the kitchen and down the hall to the bathroom across his bedroom. He deliberated a second between the sink and his tub before heading for the tub and turning the knobs for the water to flow. Paws kneaded placidly against his arm, and Tsuna smiled at the reaction. He had figured that this kitten was originally a house pet: there was certainly his proof.

He set Gokudera down into the growing pool of water when he felt the temperature was more or less tolerable and cringed as tendrils of brown immediately began to taint the water's surface. He reached for his shampoo and paused as Gokudera stretched in the water, wiggling his paws and emitting a cloud of brown, and then lay down and _rolled_. The bottle nearly slipped out of his grip from shock. Natsu never did anything remotely like this, and Tsuna had thought that even _Natsu_ was a strange cat.

'_M-Maybe he's just...trained? Y-Yeah, that's it!'_ Tsuna fervently hoped so as he watched Gokudera submerge himself and paw at his face. _'Maybe...a circus cat?'_ That didn't even sound likely.

He was thrown out of his thoughts by a splash of brown water at his face. He sputtered, wiping at his eyes before focusing on Gokudera's visage. The look currently on the kitten's face highly resembled one that was frequently on Xanxus': mostly known as "Hurry and get on with it before I throw whatever is nearest to me at your head." Though, he found it unlikely that the latter half of the statement currently applied here.

"Sorry." Tsuna opened the bottle with a _click_ and squirted a bit onto his palm. Gokudera trudged closer, almost unwittingly, and held still as the brunette began smearing the shampoo into his fur. It was quite a bit of work kneading the suds deep into Gokudera's fur, as the poor thing had many tangles and knots that hindered Tsuna's fingers and accidentally tugging on them even _just_ a bit made the kitten yowl with displeasure. It was tedious, but the brunette managed to disentangle the knots and tangles with as little pain as possible.

"You're fed and washed now, Gokudera-kun, and I haven't seen Natsu yet either. I wanted to introduce you." Tsuna chuckled as he dried off Gokudera with an orange towel, ruffling up the kitten's fur playfully and earning a growl for his actions as he set the towel aside and picked him up.

No sooner had he entered his bedroom than he noted that there was a lump beneath his sheets. With a knowing groan, Tsuna padded over – Gokudera watching cautiously from his perch on his shoulders – and moved his sheets. Natsu grumbled at the removal and peered one golden eye open to regard Tsuna.

At the sight of Gokudera, Natsu uncurled from his position – Gokudera stiffened – and golden eyes peered hostilely at the silver kitten. A low rumbling came from the golden tabby, his mane rippling as he growled. Tsuna lifted his hands up, smiling nervously. "Natsu, it's okay. This is Gokudera. He'll be staying with us for a while." The statement did little to calm the disgruntled tabby, but his fur quit standing upon his body.

Tsuna made to move closer to the bed, but Natsu's threatening yowl of disapproval made him second-guess the movement, and he turned to his closet instead to pull out a few more sheets to plump on the floor. "Sorry, Gokudera-kun." He chuckled lightly at the gentle kneading of paws against his shoulders that he got in response. He set up Gokudera's makeshift bed next to his own, as close as Natsu would allow, and set him down once he was done.

"Good night."

Gokudera turned to look down at the sheets beneath him, but a feather light touch upon his head made him lift his gaze again to catch Tsuna moving away and getting into bed with a smugly purring Natsu. He turned away as the brunette undressed and circled the sheets before settling down on them and laying his head on his paws as he allowed his eyes to close with a softly murmured response of, "_Night_."

-.-.-.-.-

"GET OFF STUPID CAT!"

Tsuna jerked awake at the yell, sitting up as fast as he could in his groggy state. A quick glance about his room as he swung his legs over to the floor told him that both Natsu and Gokudera were no longer in the room, and the continual hissing and yowling he heard from the other side of his door – which was just a tad ajar and he could vividly remember closing it when he'd come to bed with Gokudera – testified as to where both cats were.

But it didn't explain the yell.

Warily, Tsuna picked up a book from his dresser as he passed and opened the door to step out. The hissing was coming from the living room, and he could hear someone cursing underneath their breath through it. He edged closer, feeling his heart rate pick up. _'A burglar!'_ He swallowed as he neared the doorway, gripping the book as he heard the sound of pitter-patting feet coming towards him. The moment he saw a streak of color out of the corner of his eye, he swung.

But the book sailed through the air as he rounded the corner into the living room from the momentum.

A smaller body tumbled into his leg and the extra force sent him crashing to the ground. He heard a hastily muttered "Shit!" from behind him and kicked out with a cry. But again, his attempted attack met with no resistance.

A growling at his ear made Tsuna open his eyes. Natsu was baring his teeth at the intruder and his fur was on end, back exquisitely curved and claws extended for an offensive attack. Tsuna whirled to look back and catch sight of this elusive intruder, but only Gokudera's emerald gaze looked back at him, almost looking equally scared and apprehensive. No one else was there.

Tsuna sat up, confusion settling onto his visage. "But..." He could have sworn he heard a yell. Hell, he was _sure_ he had! But there was no proof anywhere that any other person had been in his apartment. Not even the telltale creak of carpet and flooring when a foot tried to press down lightly on them to tiptoe.

Gokudera's anxiously swishing tail caught Tsuna's gaze and he focused again on the kitten as it stared intently back at him. That look was almost like Lussuria's: the one in which he expressed to mean "I'm trying to tell you something, Tsu-chan, and you're not understanding~! Don't make me molest you!" Again, he found it highly unlikely and improbable that the latter half of the statement currently applied.

"I thought I heard someone..." Tsuna spoke at last, needing to at least vocalize his worry over Natsu's insistent growling. He found it somewhat peculiar that Gokudera's eyes quickly shifted away to the side before returning to him: in that peculiar way that he observed girls doing when one had said something that applied to them when they, the girls, didn't directly want to admit it, even though they ended up doing so anyway and elaborating afterwards.

But, of course, that couldn't be the case here. _'Of course not. Cats can't talk!'_ Tsuna nearly laughed at his absurd thought. He was trying to personify whatever movement Gokudera was exemplifying and was becoming just a bit deranged, that was it. He was just having a crazy moment, or an ongoing crazy time since he'd begun this personifying act since he met the kitten. Maybe he was overworked. Maybe he was losing it from hanging around the Varia far too often. He _had_ always wondered if their insanity was contagious, and he supposed that now he knew...

An odd cough caught his attention and drew him away from his spiraling thoughts. Gokudera's mouth opened as a pink tongue licked at his teeth, almost nervously. Another little cough escaped his mouth and he stood from his haunches, locking gazes with Tsuna as Natsu's growling increased at the movement perceived as an oncoming threat.

"Er, there's something you should probably know..."

And that was all the brunette heard before his head met the floor.

-.-.-.-.-

Tsuna's eyes fluttered open, the world swimming for a second before it refocused. There was an odd pressure on his chest and he could still hear Natsu's growling nearby. He groaned as he felt the small bump on the back of his head when he moved. Had he hit the floor that hard?

The pressure on his chest shifted and Tsuna blinked up at the silver-furred face and emerald eyes that peered into his own. A tense moment passed, and when nothing was said, Tsuna relaxed a bit, shifting his gaze away. "Oh, good... I thought I was going crazy..."

Gokudera moved to his thighs as he sat up. Natsu was at his knees, still growling threateningly at the silver kitten, but making no move to attack yet. Tsuna glanced between the two, settling his gaze on Gokudera's. "You _can_ talk, can't you?" He couldn't have imagined what he had heard before he passed out.

Gokudera's gaze flickered away. "...yeah." Tsuna felt the kitten's paws knead nervously against his thigh. "I'm Hayato Gokudera. I got turned into...this by some so-called fortune teller a few days ago." Gokudera's gaze flicked up to Tsuna's face, briefly searching, before he turned to the book Tsuna had held earlier. "It all sounds like that stupid story."

Tsuna glanced over to the book's cover, _The Frog Prince_. He let out a nervous chuckle, scratching his cheek. "Ironic..." He turned back to Gokudera, regarding him for a moment. "...I-I suppose...I should probably give that a try, right?" He received a confused (_and now he most definitely wasn't personifying those expressions_) look in response to his query that made his face flush with embarrassment.

"L-Like in the story." He gestured weakly to the book. There was no way he could vocalize what he was trying to say. It was embarrassing enough to just think about. The look of surprised shock on Gokudera's furred face was enough of a response.

Tsuna glanced to Natsu, whose growls had finally subsided enough to be able to be easily ignored. Golden eyes regarded him almost coldly and Natsu promptly turned away. The brunette cleared his throat anxiously and turned back to Gokudera, whose wide eyes were watching him with expectant curiosity. _'Here goes nothing.'_

He lifted Gokudera up, feeling unnerved by those emerald eyes as they came closer, and swallowed thickly. No use in backing out. His nose wrinkled as Gokudera's fur came nearer. Those emerald eyes were closed now. Better be quick. He pecked Gokudera's furry lips and quickly drew him away.

Gokudera waited almost a minute, eyes closed, as Tsuna waited with him to see if something would happen. The moment lengthened and nothing occurred. The brunette lowered Gokudera back onto his lap dejectedly as disheartened emerald eyes blinked open and peered up at him.

"Sorry?"

Gokudera shook his head as his tail flicked behind him. "Should've known. You're not a princess." There was the barest hint of a smirk on the kitten's muzzle. He hopped off Tsuna's lap and padded towards the book, struggling a moment before managing to slip the cover open and turn the pages with the pad of his paws. He pointed a claw to the drawing of the princess kissing the frog.

Tsuna laughed lightly and nodded, shifting where he sat to look over at the book as well. "That's true." He reached around Gokudera and turned the pages back to the beginning, pausing at the picture of the witch casting the enchantment and frowning at it in thought. Didn't he know someone who was into this magic casting? Who was it?

"In any case, you're free to stay with me until we can turn you back human." Tsuna offered, switching his gaze to lock with Gokudera's as he moved his hand from the book. The person's identity would come to him soon enough. He knew of only two such people, after all.

Gokudera's tail twitched at the offer, but his eyes gave no immediate reaction to it. A moment passed between them as the silverette studied Tsuna. At length, he turned away and back to the book with a stiff nod. He had nowhere and no one else to turn to anyway.

The brunette smiled and pulled himself to his feet using the couch. "I'll get breakfast for all of us then. C'mere, Natsu." He picked up the cat off the floor, laughing as Natsu purred and rubbed against his neck while he made his way to the kitchen. Gokudera watched him go from the corner of his eye and frowned down at the book, his paw touching the page with the drawing of the princess kissing the frog and the words embossed around it, _True Love's First Kiss_.

He scoffed and let the book shut, stretching out on the rug. It was no wonder that lame kiss hadn't worked then. There was no such thing as _true love_ and he had already had his first kiss, and the possibility of Tsuna not having had his first kiss yet seemed almost incredulous as the brunette was rather attractive and had at least two admirers that he could tell from that awful limo ride the night before. Then again, Tsuna did seem rather...inexperienced.

"Gokudera-kun, do you want to try and see if pancakes will agree with you? I don't think Natsu will want to share his food."

He turned and made his way to the kitchen, tail held aloft. At least being here would be different than being at home. The meals would be poison-free, _that_ he could count on.

Halfway through breakfast, the phone on the counter began ringing. Tsuna excused himself from the table and picked it up on the third ring, chirping a "Moshi, moshi" to the person on the receiving end. There was a pause before the brunette burst out with, "I was just thinking about you earlier! I need you to come over! There's something you have to see and I think you're the only one that can help!"

Gokudera's eyes narrowed at the first sentence, somewhat annoyed at the fact that the brunette had someone else on the brain. Who thought of other people when presented with a _talking cat_? His tail flicked angrily as he nibbled on the pancake in his plate. Like Natsu, he'd been allowed to eat on the table beside Tsuna, despite the other cat's reproachful glare.

"All right, thanks a lot. I'll see you in a few th – what's wrong?"

Gokudera's gaze flicked over at the change of tone, teeth clamped on a piece of pancake he had managed to tear off. Across from him, Natsu lapped at his milk bowl almost primly, golden eyes fixed on him as they had been since he had been set down on the table to eat.

"That's awful. Is he all right…? Ah, I see, that's good then. They didn't get any money off him then?" Tsuna emitted a strange sound, caught between a strangled choke and a nervous laugh. "That's certainly like him, getting money when he was initially being mugged." The brunette's head bobbed in a nod as he listened to what sounded like gibberish to Gokudera from a distance.

"I'm glad he's all right. Send him my greetings then. I'll see you in a bit." Tsuna waited for the farewell before he set the phone back onto its receiver and breathed a sigh of relief. She would most definitely help. She and her cousin were heavy into all this sorcery; if she couldn't, then her cousin would likely be of help.

"Who was that?" Gokudera did his best to keep the biting bitterness from his voice. He could not recall a time when he had anyone calling him up to hang out. None of the other kids had ever wanted to play. Childish as it was, the sting of loneliness was hard to be rid of.

Tsuna smiled and sat back down at the table, picking up his fork. "That was a friend of mine. I think she'll be able to help you. She's into the magic stuff." His smile became a little wary at the sight of Gokudera's hackles raising and the suspicious glare he received at his last statement. "None of that…voodoo, black magic! She only does white magic, I swear!"

Gokudera remained unconvinced, imagining this woman to be a female version of that 'Xanxus' guy from the night before as he bit off more from his pancake. The brunette did seem to attract the strangest people if those in the limo had been any indication. It would be just his luck to find out that the nut – the woman, that is – was the one who had initially cursed him; though, that seemed unlikely – _as the one who had cursed him was definitely a guy – _so that thought could be scrapped. What seemed more likely was her being related to the guy.

-.-.-.-.-

An hour had passed by when, after cleaning up the table and getting dressed, Tsuna looked up at the sound of knocking at his door. He beamed as he stood from where he sat at the couch with Gokudera (Natsu had wandered off into the bedroom) and hurried to the door.

"Chrome!"

Gokudera peered from the living room doorway at the woman and nearly hacked up a hairball. She looked _exactly_ like that shadow man! He was about to hiss out a warning to Tsuna, but the brunette was speaking animatedly to her as he pulled her into the house, stopping only to let her kick off her shoes.

"You've heard of things like that, right?" Tsuna directed his purple-haired friend into the living room, glancing about for Gokudera, who had slunk behind the couch to suspiciously observe.

Chrome nodded her head, keeping her two-toned gaze on Tsuna. Gokudera's eyes narrowed further at observing that her right eye was a light, red color. The shadow man's right eye had been an unnerving crimson that had at first had the number one in its midst before, after striking the deal, the number had rotated to another. This couldn't be mere coincidence. But there was no way he could now tell Tsuna of this correlation; they hadn't spoken at all of what the man had looked like.

"I haven't tried undoing such a spell before though, Boss. Mukuro-sama has taught me how to cast them, yes, but so far, he hasn't taught me how to remove it." She sat under Tsuna's direction, folding her hands primly on her lap without once removing her gaze from the brunette. A ripple of some unnamed emotion raised the fur along Gokudera's spine, and he had trouble holding back a snarl.

Tsuna nodded, biting his lip in thought as his gaze moved away from her and again searched for Gokudera, who firmly remained out of sight stubbornly. "Any chance you could convince him to tell you? Preferably soon?" He managed a little grin at Chrome's smile.

"Actually, he mentioned that I tell you if you would reconsider his offer, he would do you one favor in return if you agreed, Boss." Her tone turned a bit concerned, and Tsuna hid a grimace at hearing this. He knew exactly what that meant: there was really only one thing Mukuro had been after since they had met.

Tsuna turned his gaze again, this time catching sight of Gokudera lurking behind the couch. He met Gokudera's suspicious glare solemnly, turning the proposition over in his head. "Tell him...I'll think about it. I need a few days." He replied at last, trying not to flinch at the surprise showing plainly on Chrome's face.

"Boss! A-Are you sure? Mukuro-sama... He isn't...gentle. You don't have to, Boss." She lifted her right hand and lay it atop his left, clasping it worriedly. Tsuna gave her a crooked smile, eyes resigned, and nodded lightly as he patted her hand reassuringly with his right.

"Doesn't matter if I have to or want to. I need to."

Chrome's eyes glistened for a moment with tears before she frowned delicately at him. "But, Boss... Please, I'll ask him to teach me. There's no reason for you to give yourself up to him like this. We can get around it."

Tsuna sighed lightly and shrugged. "You can try, Chrome... Call me when you have his answer." They stood and she hugged him tightly before turning to the door determinedly and walking on out.

There was a moment of silence after the door closed, and Gokudera slunk out from behind the couch when he was sure she was gone. Tsuna sank back down into the couch and held his head between his hands, trying to prevent the weight of what he would be agreeing to from sinking in just yet.

A tad worried, Gokudera slunk closer, ears flat against his head as he paused at Tsuna's feet. After a moment, he pawed once at Tsuna's feet in their funny, orange socks. He didn't receive an immediate reaction, and he didn't try to look up to see whether or not those light brown eyes were fixed on him. A beat later, he repeated the action a little more forcefully.

Gokudera heard Tsuna stifle a laugh and finally looked up, feeling his senses ease at the sight of the brunette's smile. He hopped up, with a bit of difficulty, onto the couch and, against his better judgment, rubbed up against Tsuna's arm comfortingly. His eyes closed at feeling the brunette's other hand move and begin petting him in light strokes down his back.

A strange rumble erupted from his throat without his consent and startled them both. Tsuna's hand paused in its petting as Gokudera sat on his haunches and tilted his gaze up to meet Tsuna's with disbelief. They both abruptly burst into laughter, and Tsuna scratched Gokudera behind his ears through his mirth playfully. "Thanks."

He stood up and moved out of the living room, chuckles still emanating, and Gokudera watched him go with the oddest sense of peace he had ever had. He could still feel Tsuna's fingers against his fur, and the sensation sent the weirdest dragonflies flying around in his stomach and a shiver down his spine.

-.-.-.-.-

The next couple of days, Gokudera had flitted from accompanying Tsuna to work and returning to what he had found he began calling his home, and not like his ex-home with those negative connotations and terrible memories involving foaming at the mouth and being so dizzy and nauseous he nearly hurled all over whatever was in front of him (that was usually that damn piano).

The shadow-man's look-alike still hadn't called back, but Gokudera could feel the subtle stress and tension emanating from Tsuna's body whenever the phone rang and the immediate relief when it was only a telemarketer or that idiot from the bar that worked with him.

Speaking of that idiot, Gokudera found him to be quite irritating, and he couldn't quite explain why or how. That idiot – his name was Yamamoto or something – was really close to Tsuna, and he had had the nerve to casually start petting him when Tsuna had brought him to work the first day. Of course, Gokudera had immediately let him know that was _unacceptable_ with a well-placed scratch on the guy's chin when he had the gall to try picking him up. He'd left a satisfyingly nice scratch there that was going to scar pretty well.

Tsuna scolding him after that was the only thing that had marred his satisfaction at it.

And that brought up another point: Tsuna. The brunette was...oddly intriguing. To be honest, he was quite ordinary, though a bit clumsy at times, but there was just something about him that made Gokudera's eyes linger for more seconds than it should. He would catch himself doing it when he watched Tsuna do the dishes, listening to him softly hum a song and swaying his hips lightly to the rhythm, or when he watched Tsuna do his laundry and folding his clothes.

There was something that made his heart feel just a little lighter when the brunette would get flustered at his vigilance and give those squeaky "Hiiieee"s that he was apt to shout, and Gokudera found himself finding this new fascination becoming less and less worrisome with each day that passed.

It got to the point that he had finally gotten into Natsu's good graces enough to be allowed to sleep on the bed one night. And he had barely slept a wink because he couldn't help staring at the brunette sleeping so peacefully with the near perfect eyesight he had, even in such dim light within the room. That night, he found himself staring at Tsuna's slightly parted lips and wondering if True Love's First Kiss really meant this odd sensation that had his blood racing and his heart pounding in his ears that made him ache to feel those lips against his...

It had been around six days since the shadow-man's look-alike had come over, and it was Tsuna's day off again, much to Gokudera's pleasure. That meant no more stupid idiot trying to force-feed him sushi, no matter how good it tasted, during the lunch break.

They were having lunch together, Natsu having begrudgingly accustomed himself to Gokudera's presence to the point that he no longer hissed and growled when he came close, when the phone rang. Tsuna looked up from his bowl of soup, spoon pausing in midair, and Gokudera felt a rising tension come immediately as the brunette pushed his chair back and stood.

He watched with apprehension, licking his teeth from lingering soupy substances, and tried not to let his fur fluff up from all the tensing he was doing.

"Moshi, moshi?" The brunette's spine straightened at the response he received. "Chrome, it's all right. I told you that – Hello, Mukuro."

There was a brief pause, and Gokudera squirmed in his attempt to not hop over to the counter and listen in – or to rub up against Tsuna's arm and hope that the tension he saw would dissipate. There was too much tension in Tsuna's shoulders, and that could not be a good sign at all. Was this 'Mukuro' guy the one that girl had mentioned that had put Tsuna on edge about agreeing to something? Sounded like it.

"Yes, Chrome told me about that..." Tsuna's voice had gone oddly flat. "I know. You promise one favor in return?"

Gokudera's fur rippled at the suddenly altered tone in Tsuna's voice. He had forgotten to ask what exactly had made Tsuna so edgy about agreeing to. It couldn't be that bad, right?

"No, not here... I-I can't!" There was a tinge of almost-panic in Tsuna's tone and Gokudera leapt off the table and crash-landed haphazardly on the counter to press his paws against Tsuna's arm. The action made Tsuna jerk just a bit, but not enough to dislodge him. There was a frightened look in the brunette's eyes that made Gokudera's teeth clench, but before he could try and say anything, Tsuna's face turned to one of shocked surprise.

"But, Mukuro..." There was a defeated slump in Tsuna's shoulders and he sagged his weight against the counter, elbow pushing Gokudera back for room almost rudely as his free hand cradled his spiked hair and clenched. "It'll... It'll have to be quick."

Gokudera felt the cringe against his paws at the words Tsuna had made himself utter and his emerald eyes flashed, not about to let this drop the moment the brunette hung up. He wanted to know exactly _what_ Tsuna was compromising to in order for this so-called _'favor'_. He waited, straightening as he sat on his haunches and his tail curling and uncurling impatiently behind him, until Tsuna finally muttered a dejectedly polite farewell to whom he could only assume was Chrome and not that other jerk.

"Hey," he paused as the brunette turned to him warily. "What exactly is going on?"

The brunette bit his lip, eyes flicking away for a moment to his upper right and Gokudera's narrowed. "I'm making sure you can get back to being a human, Gokudera-kun."

Gokudera scowled, showing off the little pointed teeth he now had. "And how, exactly? Sounded like you were making a trade-off with that Mukuro-what's-his-face. What are you trading?"

Tsuna paused for a minute, scanning Gokudera's eyes carefully as his furred, kitten face gave little away, before he straightened and moved back from the table. "Nothing that I couldn't do without." He picked up Natsu from the table and headed up to his room without further comment to Gokudera's frustrated hissing.

-.-.-.-.-

It was late in the evening the next day, the sun just barely giving off its orange hue in the distance with crimson-tinted clouds stretched across its horizon, when there was a soft knock at the door.

Tsuna had been finishing washing off the dishes and let one clatter back into the sink. Gokudera immediately went on the defensive, hackles raising, and abandoned his California roll that the stupid idiot from the bar had given to Tsuna for him in favor of leaping off the table to be at the door at Tsuna's heels.

The door was opened to reveal a handsome man, several inches taller than Tsuna, and with blue-tinted hair with a zigzag part in the middle that led to an explosion at the back: his right eye was covered by a medical patch. He was smiling almost demurely at Tsuna as the brunette stepped aside to let him in, waves of apprehension rolling off him as he watched the man remove his shoes and step further inside. Gokudera stepped out of the way of those longs legs and narrowed his eyes at this man's oddly familiar frame: there was some nagging thought that he couldn't grasp well enough to put an identity just yet to this Mukuro.

"It's good to see you again, Tsunayoshi-kun." Mukuro finally greeted, turning his good, left eye onto Tsuna with an unnerving stare.

The brunette closed his door, quickly doing his best to mask his wariness, and tried to smile back politely. "Yeah, you too, Mukuro." He hesitated a moment, feeling Gokudera's heavy stare down to his right. "Sh-Should we...?"

Mukuro's lips curled at the corner into a smirk. "My, my, I didn't know you would be so eager." His good eye drifted down to look at Gokudera almost knowingly, and the silverette did his best to give him a blankly curious, cat-like stare as he rubbed himself against Tsuna's leg for show.

Tsuna moved his leg, pushing Gokudera aside almost effortlessly and throwing him an apologetic, panicked look, before he gestured for Mukuro to follow and led him to his bedroom with a shaky gait. Natsu appeared at the kitchen doorway and growled lowly as Mukuro passed before cowering at the stare that the man leveled at him.

It took all of a few seconds for Gokudera to piece together exactly what was sure to happen in the room when the door closed and what Tsuna had promised to trade for his body, before he hurtled towards them and attached himself to Mukuro's leg with his claws and an enraged yowl of fury.

The man gave a startled jerk and caught himself against the wall before he fell from the assault, and then began laughing as Gokudera tried to claw his way up his leg to reach his face. "Kufufu, if I had known I would see you again, kitten, I would have done away with you at the beginning." Mukuro reached up and removed the medical patch over his eye, and that unnerving crimson eye flashed and Gokudera finally understood that this man was that fucking shadow man from the alley.

Tsuna finally gathered his senses, tottering at the doorway of his bedroom, and gave a startled shout when Mukuro swiped at Gokudera and knocked him to the ground. He ran forward and shouldered him into the wall, hearing Natsu yowl close by. "Gokudera-kun, don't!"

Mukuro's chest rumbled with laughter against his shoulder, and Tsuna was shoved against the opposite wall, stumbling over his feet at the speed and falling against the wall harder than he would have and hitting his head against the plaster with dizzying force. Warm breaths were at his jaw, and his wrists had been pinned on either side of his head, and Mukuro's leg was pushing between his. "I will have your body, Tsunayoshi-kun."

"OVER MY DEAD ONE!"

Tsuna listened to the scamper of claws hitting wood and the yowling from both Gokudera and Natsu, and his eyes widened at hearing the resulting, sickening thud of their bodies hitting the ground almost immediately after their supposed attack. He struggled weakly against Mukuro as he tried to twist his body to see where they had fallen, if they were okay, but the taller man pressed his elbow against Tsuna's throat and the brunette choked at the pressure.

"I'm not usually one for enjoying corpses, but you will make a lovely one, so I won't mind, Tsunayoshi-kun. Kufufu..."

Tears slipped out of Tsuna's eyes as he fought for breath that he was quickly losing and spots appeared before his eyes. _'Not now... Gokudera-kun!'_ He needed to save him, had to save him, couldn't die without doing that. But the colors in his vision were beginning to blur together, and the crimson was meshing with blue was meshing with silver was meshing with purple and –

"Boss! Are you okay?" The purple was now a more distinct shape and it had a face. Chrome was hovering over him worriedly, and when he looked past her, he could see his ceiling with its cracked surface.

He squinted at her for a minute, making sure she was real, before he answered with a tentative, "Chrome?"

A smile lit her face and she nodded, turning away from him to call over her shoulder. "He's awake!" She moved away as stomps came closer and there was suddenly a lot of silver and emerald obscuring his vision, and for a split second, he couldn't breathe past the tight grip this person – this _man_ from the judge of the flat chest – had around his torso.

"I didn't think you'd wake up!" The voice struck a familiar chord in Tsuna, and when the man finally pulled away, an unfamiliar face looked back at him with emerald eyes that were intense and worried and framed by silver hair that looked suspiciously like the fur of –

"G-Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna gaped as this Gokudera smiled widely at him, displaying a perfect row of teeth and not shiny canines, and gave a nod of affirmation. The brunette took the chance of having been sat up to lean back a bit and look at, really _look at_, the person who had been sharing his home for the last week or so since his rescue in the alley.

He was tall and lean, and he was wearing Tsuna's boxers and a button-up shirt which could only mean that he had been entirely unclothed when he had regained his human form, and the brunette vaguely wondered if Chrome had shown up before then or not. He was incredibly good-looking, and as Tsuna's eyes traveled back up to look Gokudera in the eye, he flushed at the sly grin he was receiving and quickly looked back to Chrome to ask what he should have asked in the first place.

"What happened?"

Before they began telling him, Gokudera helped him stand – Tsuna finally saw that he had been laying on the ground – and led him to the living room to sit. He had a slight panic attack at seeing Natsu just laying motionless on his loveseat, but a quick check assured him he was still alive and breathing but only asleep, although just a bit hurt from the abuse he had taken at his failed assault.

"Boss, I came here when I noticed Mukuro-sama wasn't at home earlier. I didn't think he would be... Well, the door wasn't open, but I managed to use some magic to unlock it and I came in to see him trying to choke you to death. I had stolen his book before I came, since this time around, he left it home, and I managed to find the passage that undid Gokudera's spell. Together, we... Well, we trapped him."

Tsuna's brows furrowed, looking between the two and spotting the book she had mentioned on his coffee table. "Trapped him where?"

There was the sound of wings flapping before a snowy white owl flew in from the kitchen and perched on Chrome's shoulder backwards. It ruffled its wings and settled before turning its head around one-hundred and eighty degrees to level Tsuna with a two-toned gaze.

Tsuna nearly slipped off his seat and bolted, but Gokudera kept him in place with one hand on his arm. "W-What? How?" But that was a stupid question, and Mukuro turned his gaze reproachfully to Chrome, nipping her ear with his beak and squeezing her shoulder with his talons.

"I'll be sure to keep an eye on him, Boss. I'm really sorry about all this." She stood and bowed to the two, taking up the book from the table and made her way out with Mukuro balanced primly on her shoulder and his head turned to maintain Tsuna in his sights until the door closed behind them.

After a moment of silence, Tsuna turned to face Gokudera, pausing again as he was so unused to finally speaking to another person when he had been talking to a cat all this time. "I'm glad you're back to normal."

Gokudera smiled back at him, leaning forward with a sharp nod. "So am I... But that was really stupid of you to try and trade for me." He watched Tsuna's cheeks turn red at the mention and felt those strange dragonflies in his stomach start dancing around again. "Thank you."

Tsuna's lips split into a bashful grin. "Don't mention it, Gokudera-kun." He scanned the other's face, finally able to not personify and guess at what Gokudera was feeling as he could see it plainly on his face.

"_In any case, you're free to stay with me until we can turn you back human."_

He bit his lip for a moment at the reminder of what he had said. The thought of this man – whom he had come to grow so accustomed to, if not in body, then in presence, around his home – leaving to finish whatever it was he had to do or just leaving because he wanted to saddened him to no end. He couldn't let Gokudera just up and leave.

"You're...still welcome to stay, Gokudera-kun." And he couldn't believe he had actually come out and said it.

There was a heart-wrenching moment of silence before Gokudera leaned in and smiled against Tsuna's cheek, eyes closed in bliss. "I wouldn't have it any other way." He turned just so and met Tsuna's lips, giving in to those stupid dragonflies that swarmed and made his cheeks heat up but made this feel so perfectly right.

'_So... This is True Love's First Kiss.'_

-.-.-.-.-

_Feedback is greatly appreciated!_

_PHEW. This monster is FINALLY done. It was started a couple days before April 16__th__ and only JUST got done. But I am QUITE happy with the results, as I was trying to make this as good as I could for my dear, sweet Kat! Happy (VERY) Belated Birthday! I didn't give you smut because I didn't know if you wanted that (and I don't know how I'd have worked that in either, as I went into this story with no smut in mind – which was surprisingly hard to keep in mind!)._

_Anyway, any mistakes in there are completely and utterly mine. I don't have a beta, so I beta my own stories, and I was just too tired for this one to be thorough. XD_

_Loved it? Hated it? Had an absolute favorite line? Just click that button at the bottom and tell me all about it!_

_Cookies to those who catch references to a movie that somewhat helped spur this on! (and, hell, any other references that might appear that I am both aware and unaware of, too: I did catch another batch when I reread it for errors!)_

_PS: After this story, I do believe I will go back to being on a slight "hiatus". I am still trying to work on AMtUoYH, CT, and PEN1, so I will do my best to kick my butt into gear for them! I will work on them with my UNDYING WILL! /shot_

_EDIT [07-25-10]: Added about half a page of fluff more into the story, after considering a reviewer's...review. xD_


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